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Prices and Wages by Decade: 1830-1839

Links to government documents and primary sources listing retail prices for products and services, as well as wages for common occupations.

Wages in the United States, 1830-1839

GOVERNMENT and MILITARY SALARIES

Wages by state, 1830-1839

Wages by country, 1830s

Foreign wages by occupation (A-Z) then country, 1830-1839

Source: A Compilation of Wages in Commercial Countries from Official Sources, Volume I and Volume II. Issued as the 15th Annual Report of the U.S. Commissioner of Labor (1900).

Source: A Compilation of Wages in Commercial Countries from Official Sources, Volume I and Volume II. Issued as the 15th Annual Report of the U.S. Commissioner of Labor (1900).

Source: A Compilation of Wages in Commercial Countries from Official Sources, Volume I and Volume II. Issued as the 15th Annual Report of the U.S. Commissioner of Labor (1900).

Source: A Compilation of Wages in Commercial Countries from Official Sources, Volume I and Volume II. Issued as the 15th Annual Report of the U.S. Commissioner of Labor (1900).

Source: A Compilation of Wages in Commercial Countries from Official Sources, Volume I and Volume II. Issued as the 15th Annual Report of the U.S. Commissioner of Labor (1900).

Source: A Compilation of Wages in Commercial Countries from Official Sources, Volume I and Volume II. Issued as the 15th Annual Report of the U.S. Commissioner of Labor (1900).

Source: A Compilation of Wages in Commercial Countries from Official Sources, Volume I and Volume II. Issued as the 15th Annual Report of the U.S. Commissioner of Labor (1900).

Food prices by state, 1830-1839

Household item prices by region, 1830-1839

Transportation prices, 1830-1839

Before the steam engine, rail transportation was powered by horses.
Image source: Scriber's Magazine, July 1888, p. 175

  • Hackney coach fares in 1830, 1831, 1834, 1835, 1836, 1838, and 1839. Source: The Tourist, or pocket manual for travellers.
  • Staten Island ferry rate: 12½¢ in 1838. Source: newspaper.

More prices in the United States, 1830-1839

CLOTHING prices, 1830s

COST of HOMES and LAND, 1830s

COMMUNICATION costs, 1830s

COST of HEALTH CARE, 1830s

EDUCATION EXPENSES, 1830s

See a full list of U.S. colleges as of 1837.  Contact us if you need to know the tuition for any of these schools.

PRICES for SERVICES, 1830s

  • 1830, WV -- shave "no more than a five penny bit" (source)
  • 1837, NC -- shave and haircut price 4 pence (source)
  • 1838, New York City -- shave price 6¼ cents (source)
  • 1839, Ohio -- shave 6¼ cents, haircut 12½ cents (source)
  • 1839, Mississippi -- shave 25¢ and haircut 50¢ (source)

PRICES for HORSES and LIVESTOCK, 1830s

PRICES for TOOLS and BUILDING MATERIALS, 1830s

Prices in foreign countries, 1830-1839

Prices in GREAT BRITAIN, 1830s

PRICES in IRELAND, 1830s

Prices in CANADA, 1830s

Prices in FRANCE, 1830s

Prices in ITALY, 1830s

Prices in SWEDEN, 1830s

Prices in SWITZERLAND, 1830s

Exchange rate, 1830

Analysis and calculators, 1830s

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Marie Concannon, Government Information Librarian
Government Documents Department, Ellis Library
University of Missouri, Columbia
Email: concannonm@missouri.edu
Phone (573) 882-0748